Wednesday, January 4, 2017

J/112E Sailing World Boat of the Year Winner!(Newport, RI)- For J/Boats, it’s simple enough to tack an “E” onto a model and create an entirely new range of boats, especially with its European builder in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, driving the company’s evolution.

J/Boats designer Al Johnstone says the “E” is for “evolution” or “elegance,” but it could be for “Euro,” as that’s the market for which the design was conceived. Europeans, says Johnstone, prefer a slightly more upscale and detailed interior look, more windows, and a boat they’ll race and happily cruise. Read more of Sailing World’s review here. For more J/112E sport cruiser sailboat informationLondon Boat Show Time!
(London, England)- For next week, take the opportunity to swing by the London Boat Show at the EXCEL Center and get a chance to speak to J/UK representatives about the exciting evolution of the J/88 family speedster- the class had wonderful sailing in the Hamble Winter Series in the fall of 2016 and its momentum continues to grow for 2017.

The London Boat Show is open from January 6th to 15th, 2017 and the J/88 will be displayed at Stand F064 at the EXCEL LONDON Pavilion. For more show information. For J/88 family speedster sailing informationboot Dusseldorf Boat Show Extravaganza!
(Dusseldorf, German)- With over 300 sailboat related exhibitors, there is no question the world’s largest sailboat show in the heart of Europe is an exciting place to visit. Das boot, the boat show, takes place from January 21st to 29th.

On display in Hall 15/ Booth B21 will be two choices for J/Clan aficionados. For those into performance, the two little speedsters will be on display- the J/70 and J/88. And, for those into fast, comfortable cruising- the J/97E and the J/112E.

In Germany alone, the most significant impact on sailing has been the evolution of the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga, with over 80 sailing clubs participating and thousands of sailors across Germany. Then, across Europe, there are 14 national SAILING Champions League series all hosted with the famous International J/70- the world’s fastest growing sportsboat class- a boat that can be sailed by anyone in the community of sailing- young and old alike, women, children, 8 to 80 yrs old!!

The next-generation sport-cruisers, the “E” series of the J/97 and J/112, are proving to be quite popular in Europe. At the Paris Boat Show, the J/112E had an enthusiastic reception with sailing families seeking to combine the “joy of sailing” with lots of expansive comfort on deck and down below in the sunny interior. Learn more about why J/112E was selected as SAILNG WORLD’s Boat of the Year and also EUROPEAN Boat of the Year. For more Boot Dusseldorf show informationQuantum J/70 Winter Series II Preview
(Tampa, FL)- For the second act of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series, fifty-four J/70 teams are registered to sail off Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida from January 7th to 8th. The Corinthians fleet is huge, with 26 teams participating. The sailors are all looking forward to a promising forecast; after an overnight frontal passage on Friday evening, the breezes are forecast to be northerly 15-25 kts on Saturday and shifting northeast on Sunday 15-25 kts with clear, sunny skies!

After the first weekend, it was clear that Tom Bowen/ Marty Kullman on REACH AROUND sailed fast and consistent. Will they be able to replicate that performance again? They will be facing several determined crews that will be intent on knocking them off that throne, including Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE crew from Fort Worth, TX that were 2nd overall in the first event and also the top women helm- Darby Smith’s AFRICA from Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA, that was third overall. Jumping into the fray at the top of the leaderboard should include crews like Al Terhune’s DAZZLER from Annapolis, MD (J/22 World Champion), Will Welles’ SCAMP (J/24 World Champion), and Kerry Klingler's MENACE (J/80 World Champion).

The 26-boat Corinthian division saw Andrew Loe’s TBD from Seattle YC win Round 1. Can they repeat that performance?? Their challengers in the top five included Bryan Cameron’s B-SQUARED from Sayville YC, Rob Britts’ HOT MESS from host Davis Island YC, Andrew Fisher’s BUTTON FLY, and Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK in 5th. For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing informationLauderdale to Key West Race Preview
(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- When the cold northerly winds of January blow, where would you rather be, bundled up in the cold white north, or in shorts and a t-shirt in Key West? Would you rather shovel your driveway, or walk Duval Street? Would you rather sit around waiting for a groundhog to see his shadow or share the streets with roosters and Hemingway’s six-toed cats in front of the Southernmost White House? No matter the question, Key West is The Answer.

The 41st Annual Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race, hosted by Lauderdale Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, kicks off on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, when competitors gather at Lauderdale Yacht Club for the pre-race Mt. Gay Rum Party and Skippers Meeting. On Wednesday the 11th, the race will get under way for the annual sprint down and around the shoals of the Florida Keys to the Conch Republic.

The race starts at 13:00 off of Port Everglades, for the 160-mile sprint southbound and around the curve of the Florida Keys to Key West, where winter in the tropics awaits. Once in Key West, competitors can enjoy all that the island has to offer, including (but by no means limited to) the SORC Duty Station at the upstairs deck at Turtle Kraals, and the Friday night Awards Party at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill.

This year, the IRC Class has an enormous range of boats from 38 to 75 feet, including Chris & Karen Lewis’ J/44 KENIA from Lakewood YC in Houston, TX. ORC Class has a similar scenario, with boats ranging from 34 to 70 feet, including Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION from New York YC and Frank Atkinson’s J/125 RAISIN’ CANE from Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The PHRF A class has Gary Weisberg’s J/111 HEAT WAVE from Jubilee YC in Gloucester, MA up against an M32, a Farr 395 and Class 40! Up against some seriously heavy cruising boats in PHRF B class is the J/World Annapolis crew, led by Kristen Berry, on the seriously fast J/88 MI2. For more Storm Trysail & Lauderdale YC Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race sailing informationEurope’s SAILING Championship Series 2017 Program
(Hamburg, Germany)- The impact of the sailing league program, originally created in Germany by Oliver Schwall’s Konzeptwerft Group in Hamburg, Germany and their J/Germany partners Mittelmann’s Werft, has simply re-defined “club sailing” in Europe- for thousands of sailors across the continent.

Started in 2013 “on a wing & a prayer”, the dynamic team managed to engage 18 sailing clubs in their first season in 2014 to hatch the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga. Teams of four sailors from across Germany sailed “college-style” regattas, rotating in each team after sailing short 10-15 minutes races on evenly matched J/70s. It has proved to be an extremely popular and very successful format.

Since that time, the SAILING Champions League was created to provide an overall European Champion for the fourteen countries participating from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (Junior and Open), Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. The 2017 qualification program for the 300+ sailing clubs across Europe includes the following schedule:

The extraordinary impact that J/70s and the sailing leagues are having on “grass roots” sailing in Europe is quite astonishing. Here are the basic numbers (the demographics):

14 National Leagues

24 Sailing Clubs (average)

500 Club Spectators (average)

12 Sailors per club (average)

7 Regattas per league (average)

6 Boats per event

15 Races per weekend for each team

In short, each club sails about 105 sailing league races each season. Each club has 12 sailors and 500 club members actively engaged for each event (virtually or onsite). In other words, across 14 European countries, there are more than 172,000 sailing club members actively engaged in their club’s success in each event; 4,032 alone are men, women, youth sailing as crew on the boats. A total of 1,470 races are scheduled for the 2017 season! For more SAILING Champions League Sailing informationJ/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Happy New Year to the J/Family around the world! Here’s to wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous 2017, with fair winds and fun sailing with family and friends.

While the holidays saw mostly daysailing taking place in the warmer parts, there was some activity taking place in Italy’s J/24 class as well as a number awards taking place in the Netherlands regards their amazing Two-handed Sailing Association and the talented J/sailors leading the charge.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page Below are the summaries.

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.Dutch Double-handed J/Sailors Honored!
(Nieuwegein, The Netherlands)- The annual awards ceremony of the Dutch Sailing Federation honored the top two-handed sailors in the Dutch offshore circuit.

For the annual Shorthanded Awards, sailors nominate candidates for the Double Handed and Solo Challenge Award, and the committee, consisting of Chairman Sander Bakker Erik van Vuuren, Hans Bourscholte and Luke Schroeder, review the nominations and select and designate a winner.

For the Double Handed Awards, the jury proposed three nominations:

John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef for winning the Two-handed sailing series and prepping their new J/122 AJETO for the best possible performance shorthanded.

Yvonne Beusker and Erik van Vuuren for winning the North Sea Race with their J/105 PANTHER and for Yvonne lobbying at the World Sailing Congress in Barcelona to integrate the first Two-handed class in the World Sailing Cup.

Chris Schram, Raymond Roesink and Ken Parson. Raymond and Chris were on the podium a whopping nine times during the 2016 Dutch Two-handed circuit. And, Chris and Ken Parson, also placed in many races in the English RORC circuit.

For the jury, it was not an easy decision and they had to take into account not only the team’s performance, but also their passion and dedication to sailing, both on the water and on shore.

As a result, in the fast-growing doublehanded discipline, Chris Schram's J/120 MAVERICK won the 2016 Dutch Doublehanded Award, for best overall performance during the season (competing with Raymond Roesink) and for their impressive performance in the RORC 2H Series (with Ken Parsons as co-skipper). For more Dutch Two-handed series sailing informationJ/24 Italy Winter Series Reports
(Rome, Italy)- The J/24 class in Italy continues to enjoy their winter series events around the peninsula, particularly in the more southern fleets in the Mediterranean.

MARINA DI CARRARA
The winner for the J/24 Trophy for Best Owner/Skipper and crew for 2016 (based on four of the best scores in the circuit) was Italian J/24 Class President, Pietro Diamante racing his boat ITA 212 JAMAICA. They were followed in the overall scoring by ITA 400 CAPTAIN NEMO, sailed by Guido Guadagni, in second place and taking the bronze position on the podium was ITA 371 JOC sailed by Fabio Apollonio. Filling out the top five were ITA 489 VALHALLA skippered by Fabio de Rossi in 4th place and ITA 428 RED LEATHER sailed by Gianni Riccobono.

For the J/24 Trophy for Best Skipper (only) in 2016, it was the Italian Navy’s skipper Ignazio Bonanno that led ITA 416 LA SUPERBA to the top of the standings. In that classification, ENG 447 PELLE NERO skippered by Hungarian Farkas Litkey were second and third was ITA 215 MOLLICONA skippered by James Black.

ANZIO & NETTUNO
Nothing done for the fifth and final day of the 2016 winter series in Anzio & Nettuno, no races were held due to lack of wind. As a result, the winner was declared as Ignazio Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA with just 8 pts total over 7 races! Taking second overall was ITA 447 PELLE NERO sailed by Paul Cecamore and Farkas Litkey. Third was ITA 428 PELLE ROJO sailed by Gianni Riccobono with tactician Sergio Strippoli.

"The Championship is proving to be very interesting, the fight for the top places in the standings is very close, with several boats within a few points of each other. The addition of two boats from the top Hungarian J/24 fleet has also added to the overall competitiveness of the fleet,” said the Chairman of the Sailing Club of Rome, Marco Minghetti.

TARANTO
The third weekend of the Taranto winter series saw a light southwest breeze under clear skies and cool temperatures, permitting the PRO to run two good races for the fleet.

After tight racing, it was FIVE FOR FIGHTING that continues to lead the series with JEBEDEE just two points back in second place. Sitting in third place is still DOCTOR J, followed by Marcello Bellacicca’s MARBEA in 4th and Ferdinand Capobianco’s LITTLE DEVIL in 5th position.

OLBIA SARDINIA
The 2016 Sardinian circuit was won by ITA 405 VIGNE SURRAU skippered by Aurelio Bini from Club Nautico Arzachena. From second to fifth place, however, only three points separated all four boats! Sneaking into the silver spot was ITA 431 LNI CARLISLE skippered by David Gorgerino. Third was ITA 241 LIBARIUM skippered by Roberto Dessy. The balance of the top five included Antonello Ciabatti’s ITA 420 LIBISSONYS and ITA 443 AIR LNI of Olbia, in 4th and 5th, respectively. For more Italian J/24 Class sailing information

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, President of YC Monaco, awarded Vincenzo Onorato the “Trophée Credit Suisse Sailor of the Year” at their gala awards evening in Monte Carlo. This prestigious trophy is made by vote of the 1,800 Yacht Club members and was based on Onorato’s Italian crew winning the Rolex Middle Sea Race on his TP52 and the M32 European Championship.

“2016 has been an extraordinary year as we achieved all our objectives. I’m looking forward to joining the J/70 fleet, my ambition being to compete at Key West Race Week in Florida, then the J/70 Worlds at YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. In total, 18 regattas await us on four different boats all over the world, and it will be an honor to compete under the Yacht Club de Monaco’s flag.”

Proof of how dynamic the Monegasque fleet is, the owner of the prestigious MASCALZONE LATINO stable of offshore racing yachts was competing with other YCM owner/helmsmen who also graced the podiums in 2016. They include Torbjörn Törnqvist, Guido Miani, Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio, Oren Nataf and Stefano Roberti, European J/70 Vice-Champion. For more YC Monaco Winter Sportsboat Series sailing information

J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!

* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html

* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.

* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' QuestionsAdvice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand and points further around the Blue Planet Earth. Here is their latest update (December 2016) from Bill & Kathy:

“We completed a three year tour of the south pacific and sailed from Hobart Tasmania back to Seattle in the fall of 2012. After two seasons of local cruising, we decided to truck the boat to Rochester NY. In the summer of 2015, we sailed out the Saint Lawrence seaway and down the east coast of Nova Scotia and the US, with a few months in the Bahamas that winter. This past summer, we crossed the Atlantic with stops in Bermuda and the Azores, making landfall in Falmouth, UK. We have worked down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal and are now in Lagos Portugal. We plan on passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and spending a couple seasons in the Med.”

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.